Whip off the Old Block
by HAFanForever
Summary: During a family vacation in San Lorenzo, Miles shows and teaches Arnold how to use his old bullwhip for the first time. Cover image is "Passing the Whip", a commission artwork made for me by Demona-Silverwing on deviantART.


It was June, and summer had officially begun. Furthermore, nearly a full year had passed since Arnold has rescued his parents from their sleeping sickness plight while in the city of the Green-Eyed People in San Lorenzo. He had just finished sixth grade and was on his summer vacation.

Only two days ago, the Shortmans arrived in San Lorenzo and were planning a two-week visit. Within the next day, they were going to go visit the Green-Eyes at their city. Since the anniversary of the reunions between the children and infected parents was approaching, the Green-Eyes wanted to celebrate Arnold's heroism.

For their vacation, Arnold and his parents were staying at the hut in which Miles and Stella lived before and until shortly after Arnold was born. At the moment, Arnold was sitting out on the steps of the hut, looking at the view in front of him and thinking. Miles and Stella were inside, going through their items.

"Hey, Dad?" Arnold asked all of a sudden.

"Yes, Arnold?"

"I've wanted to mention this for a while now. When I first read your journal, I remember that some of the stories mentioned that you used a whip to help you and Mom during some of your adventures."

"I did, indeed, son. It especially came in handy when your mom and I faced Lasombra. I disarmed of his machete so your mom and I could take the Corazon back from him _and_ when I used it to swing us over the waterfall to escape."

"Well, I was wondering, do you still have it? Do you think you could show it to me?"

"I'd love to, Arnold. I had always wanted to show it to you, and I thought you'd never ask." Miles then began rummaging through one of the suitcases the family had brought for their trip. "You know," he spoke up to both Arnold and Stella, "Lasombra may be gone, but these jungles can still be a danger. So I thought it would be a good idea to bring my whip again. I may have been a klutz years ago, but I was always cautious on our adventures."

"Oh, sure you were, honey," Stella said with a sarcastic smile. "If you were more cautious, you wouldn't have injured yourself as many times as you did when we first met."

Miles grinned sheepishly at Stella's comment while both Arnold and Stella laughed.

"Ah ha! Here it is," Miles announced as he found and lifted up the raveled whip. "It's a bit stiff from years of not being used as much, but I think it's still got the works. And I'm sure I still have what it takes in wielding this whip."

Miles walked over to where Arnold was and began to unravel the whip. The two of them walked down the steps and onto the ground. Miles kneeled down and Arnold looked at the whip in awe. "Oooh," he said. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone carrying a whip. Is this the kind that farmers use on their livestock?"

"Yes, it is. It's called a bullwhip. Given how far it can extend and how well it can grasp, this is probably the best kind you can use as a weapon or a tool."

"So when did you first start carrying a whip with you?" Arnold asked. Before Miles could answer, Arnold then gave a small laugh. "You know, I could probably see Grandma handling one of these if she needed to. But Grandpa? Not so much."

Miles chuckled, too. "Yeah, I think I can agree. Mom was almost always more adventurous and daring than Dad was. Anyway, I began carrying my own whip around when I was in my mid 20s. That was when I began exploring and doing work in the field after my college days. However, I first began practicing with a whip when I was a teenager, when I was just a few years older than you. That was when I first saw _Raiders of the Lost Ark_. Have you ever seen that film?"

"Oh yes, I did, and I really enjoyed it," Arnold answered. "I watched it some time last year, before I found you and Mom. From your adventures, you two actually made me think about Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood."

Miles laughed again. "Well, I can see how. Anyway, I enjoyed the film and its sequels, and Indy became one of my favorite fictional characters. I was impressed at how well he was able to wield a whip and how it helped him escape danger many times. Now when I was younger, I wasn't too sure if I would ever go on any very dangerous treks like Indy did. But as I grew up, I knew I wanted to be as safe as I could be if I wanted to travel. Better to be cautious and safe than sorry. And as I watched the Indy films over again, I noticed that the whip could be far more effective to fend off attackers, including dangerous animals. So yeah, I started carrying a whip whenever I started to travel as means of safety."

"Can you show me how you use it for grasping or grabbing things?"

"Of course I can. But first, let me show you how it generally works, with it cracking." Miles stood up and added, "But you should stand far enough away so where you can watch me better and avoid being accidentally hit by the whip. Like any whip, if you get hit by the tail end of this, you'll cut yourself."

So Arnold backed away from his father. When he was approximately 15 feet away from his previous spot, Miles called to him, "That's good, son. Just stay there."

Arnold noticed that Miles seemed to be reeling the whip into a circular shape. "So just what are you doing with the whip?"

As Miles explained what he was doing to Arnold, he touched the appropriate parts of the whip when he mentioned them. "Well, what you want to do before you crack the whip is make a loop near the handle, this loop here, which will travel to the end of the whip. At the end of the whip, which is this fluffy part here, will fling out and create a sonic boom."

To demonstrate this sonic boom sound, Miles released the whip straight out in front of him, and Arnold noticed it made a strong whooshing sound right before it cracked.

"Whoa, Dad!" Arnold exclaimed. "That's one of the loudest sounds I've ever heard!"

"Wanna hear it again?"

Arnold nodded and grinned excitedly. Miles grinned back, then released the whip a few more times. "You have to learn to practice properly releasing and cracking the whip before you try to use for grabbing things." As Miles released the whip upward, downward, and brought it behind him, Arnold watched in amazement.

Then Miles looked at the nearest tree. Still holding the whip in his hand, he gestured towards Arnold, indicating for him to come over. "What are you gonna do now?" Arnold asked once he came up to his father's side.

"I'm gonna show you how to use to whip to grab things. We'll start with this tree branch." Circling the whip to make a loop, Miles raised his arm over his head, then released it forward, all while aiming at the branch. The whip made the whooshing sound before it cracked and the very end circled the branch a few times, making the whip tight enough to completely hold on to the branch.

Miles felt the tightness of the whip on the branch and gave a little tug for assurance. "Here, Arnold. It's completely tightened on the branch. Go ahead and feel it."

"Geez, Dad! That is tight! You know, I actually didn't think you could do this kind of thing with a whip. I didn't even think it could really do all of the things Indiana Jones uses it for."

"Well, son, what you see happen in the Indiana Jones films is a bit unorthodox and seems very far-fetched. But I've done these kinds of things, too, so it _is_ possible. You just have to constantly practice and practice in order to master it."

Still holding on to the tightened whip, Arnold realized he couldn't loosen it. "How do you get it off, Dad?"

"You just have to pull it loose," Miles answered. He took the whip from Arnold and gave it several tugs until it finally came off of the branch.

"I gave it all it had. How come I couldn't loosen it?"

"Well, you're not as physically strong as I am, Arnold. And I've had more experience with the whip. I only make it look easy because I've had years of practice." When he thought Arnold looked a bit discouraged, Miles smiled at his son and placed his hand on his shoulder and patted it. "But don't worry, son. You'll be a lot stronger than you are before you know it."

"I know, Dad," Arnold replied. He gestured to Miles, as if to ask if he could hold the whip. Miles complied and put it in Arnold's hands. "Man, I wish I had one of these. I'd love to explore and go on adventures like you and Mom someday, and having a weapon like this whip sure would be very handy."

Miles smiled widely. "Arnold, would you wait here a minute?"

"Sure, Dad." When Miles walked off, Arnold continued to hold the whip in his hand. In curiosity, Arnold decided to give the whip a try himself. He felt it was a bit large for his hands, and a little too heavy, but he wanted to try it. So he brought it up from the ground, releasing it with as much strength as he could muster, and let it go until he heard the crack.

Then Arnold noticed his father approaching him. His hands were behind his back, so Arnold realized he was holding something, something else he wanted to show.

Once he was in Arnold's proximity, Miles said, "Close your eyes." Arnold did just as he was instructed. "Now open them."

Once Arnold opened his eyes, he gasped at what Miles was holding in his hands: another whip, which Arnold immediately realized was for him! He was so stunned he was at a complete loss for words. "But, Dad...when did you...how did you...how long had you been planning this?"

"I've had this whip for you for a while. And, well, I was going to wait until you were a little older. But after thinking about all you did last year here in San Lorenzo, I think now is the best time."

"Whoa, cool! Thanks so much, Dad."

"You're welcome, son. Just promise me that you'll be careful with it."

"Of course I will."

"And now that we both have a whip, what do you say we start your practicing and training?"

"You bet!"

So Arnold and Miles spent the rest of the day practicing with their whips. It didn't take long for Arnold to get the hang of releasing the whip, which he enjoyed, but he knew if he wanted to try using it for grabbing or grasping things, it would take a long time to achieve that.


End file.
